Chapter 250: Test
It had to be known that Zhang Tiekui and the nineteen others had received devilish-like training since a very young age as they grew up and were sent abroad to be placed within various terrifyingly dangerous organizations.
They had gone through numerous battles and were baptized by the flame of wars as well as the scouring dead sea of blood of the battles. If anyone of them were to be drafted into the army, they might have become the king there.
And now! The Grim Reaper Scythe Mercenary members were already perplexed by the sudden surprise attack. They called Tagore through the earphones but nobody responded.
"Retreat!"
"Retreat!"
The voices of their companions were constantly being transmitted to each member of the Grim Reaper Scythe Mercenaries. One of the strong and vigorous figures no longer thought of prolonging the combat and quickly retreated. As they passed by a certain spot, they found the dead bodies of their companions.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
In half a minute, the body of seven or eight Grim Reaper Scythe Mercenaries fell, whereas the remaining were wounded and fled.
Zhong Tiekui and his men didn’t chase them. He only sent two people to quickly track those fleeing Grim Reaper Scythe Mercenary members. As for the remaining men, they quickly rushed inside. At the same time, Zhong Tiekui dialed Tang Xiu’s cell number in a hidden corner.
Inside the used car dealer building, Yuan Zhengxuan’s brows slightly wrinkled. There were no sounds of firing from the enemies in the last few minutes, and even the situation outside was very quiet and there was no slightest movement whatsoever. The quietness amidst the dangerous situation made his heart more restless and anxious.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz…”
His expression changed as he found that his mobile vibrating. He quickly grabbed it and saw an unfamiliar number. After thinking for a moment, he resolutely picked the call and spoke in a low voice, “Who’s this?”
“I’m Zhong Tiekui. My boss sent us to support you. The enemy has retreated. We must gather up with you immediately!”
“Who’s your boss?” Yuan Zhengxuan’s face flickered as he asked hastily.
“Tang Xiu,” said Zhong Tiekui.
After a few seconds of silence, Yuan Zhengxuan then asked, “Why should I believe you?”
Zhong Tiekui replied with a deep tone, “Call my boss, he’ll tell you!”
“Alright!”
Yuan Zhengxuan hung up the phone and dialed Tang Xiu’s cell number.
On the highway.
Tang Xiu was driving his Land Rover SUV. The car’s speed had exceeded 180 km/h. There were only a few cars on the highway in the night and he also passed by some, scaring the drivers by his car’s speed.
“Tang Xiu, did you send someone to back me up?”
Tang Xiu received Yuan Zhengxuan’s call and heard his inquiry from the phone.
“Yes. There should 20 people. The team leader is Zhong Tiekui.”
"Ah! Thank you!"
"You’re welcome!"
After ending the call, Yuan Zhengxuan quickly called a dozen of his men and then dialed Zhong Tiekui’s cell number to let them come inside.
Shortly after, both sides met with each other.
Zhong Tiekui quickly arrived in front of Yuan Zhengxuan, asking in a heavy tone, “Are you injured?”
Yuan Zhengxuan nodded bitterly, “I got shot on the shoulder and lost quite a lot of blood.”
“Please endure it for a moment, I’ll help you remove the bullet,” said Zhong Tiekui.
Yuan Zhengxuan quickly said, “Please don’t be such in a hurry. I can still bear it. Where are those foreigners? Have they really backed out?”
“If I’m not wrong, the first two we dealt with were the commanders of this foreign team. Since they’re without leaders and we also killed some of them, they retreated. Don’t worry, I also have sent some men to track them. We’ll wait for our Boss before talking about how to deal with the remaining survivors.”
Yuan Zhengxuan’s eyes flickered as he looked at Zhong Tiekui and the several strong men with a panic-stricken look. He had personally experienced how powerful the enemies were. Of his originally thirty trusted subordinates, half of them died after a night of combat, and the rest were all injured; whereas these strong looking guys at present, they were unscathed. Moreover, the ice-cold aura emanating from them sent a chill down his spine.
“Go outside and have a look at the situation!”
Yuan Zhengxuan calmed down his emotions with quite an effort. He let Zhong Tiekui tear his clothes as he turned to some of his men who only had light injuries and ordered them.
“Understood!”
They looked at each other and carefully lurked toward the outside.
Zhong Tiekui ripped Yuan Zhengxuan’s clothes and took a lighter from his pocket. He lit it up and unceasingly burned the point of his knife. After half a minute, he said deeply, “Please endure it.”
“Alright!” said Yuan Zhengxuan as he nodded.
Zhong Tiekui’s eyes narrowed slightly. Using the tip of his knife, he tore open the flesh near the bullet’s entrance as Yuan Zhengxuan’s complexion turned very ugly. The bullet’s head was pulled out very fast as Zhong Tiekui quickly took a needle and thread from his bag and stitched Yuan Zhengxuan’s wound. He also took a roll of gauze from the bag and wrapped it up.
“Huff…”
Yuan Zhengxuan felt acute pain but was greatly relaxed inwardly. He exclaimed in admiration, “I really didn’t expect that you would be carrying even needles, thread, and gauze. You have learned professional medical aid, didn’t you?”
Zhong Tiekui said coldly, “We got injured practically every day in the past. If we didn’t bring these life-saving stuff, I’m afraid that all of us might have already died countless over.”
Injured every day in the past? Life-saving equipment?
Yuan Zhengxuan looked at his grim expression. He palpitated and his heartbeat sped up. A deep curiosity toward who Zhong Tiekui and his men were, suddenly arose inside his heart. He wanted to know how Tang Xiu could have such a group of men.
As Zhong Tiekui dealt with Yuan Zhengxuan’s wounds, he also ordered his men to treat Yuan Zhengxuan’s subordinates. He then called Tang Xiu, asking for the next instructions. He was ordered to stand by and wait for him.
At Star City highway intersection.
Tang Xiu quickly drove toward the tollgate. After he paid the fee, he left the toll station as two police cars lit up their sirens and pursued him.
"Hmph…"
Naturally, with important things to manage, Tang Xiu was disinclined to deal with the cops. He accelerated his car and quickly threw off the police cars. As soon as he entered downtown, he parked his car in a remote place and left quickly.
Inside a dark alley.
Tang Xiu dialed Wolf Head’s cell number. After it sounded thrice, his call was connected.
“Wolf Head?”
“It’s me!”
Wolf Head’s voice came.
“Since you want to pledge allegiance to me, I’ll give you a test. And do bear in mind that everything I’ll be telling you now must be kept strictly confidential,” said Tang Xiu.
“Understood!” Wolf Head replied with a deep tone.
“A businessman friend of mine was hunted down by a group of foreign assassins. My other men have rescued him, but more than 20 of them escaped. Quickly rush to the Whitesand River ferry crossing. There’s an abandoned factory nearby. Get rid of them for me.”
"Foreign assassins?"
Wolf Head knitted his brows as hesitation was written on his face.
Tang Xiu said in a heavy tone, “I can assure you that they’re definitely foreign assassins, even though I have yet to verify their specific identities. But they have scythe signs. My men told me that they should the Grim Reaper Scythe mercenaries from abroad. Also, they are heavily armed, so you have to pay attention to your safety.”
Grim Reaper Scythe Mercenaries?
A thick murderous look glinted from Wolf Head’s eyes. He knew that mercenary group as well as was aware of its reputation in the mercenary world. They had committed grave crimes and killings for countless of times. Members of this mercenary group were also listed in the Interpol as well as on the clean-up list of peacekeeping forces.
Moreover, even though he had never personally fought the members of the Grim Reaper Scythe Mercenaries during his missions abroad, but two of his comrades-in-arms had died in their hands.
“I guarantee you, we’ll accomplish the task!” Wolf Head replied.
Tang Xiu ended the call. He didn’t hurry to converge with Yuan Zhengxuan and Zhong Tiekui. Instead, he stopped a taxi in the roadside and then rushed toward the Whitesand River ferry crossing.
The total number of retired soldiers who came to Star City along with Wolf Head was only 12. Despite his idea to test them out, Tang Xiu also wanted to ensure that they would be safe. This world was no better than the Immortal World. Let alone ordinary people, even the powerhouses in the Immortal World would have to face the possibility of death at any time.
But on Earth, one’s life was very important. Especially for Wolf Head and the other retired soldiers, for the special department of the country must be monitoring them in secret. And in the case that they all died under the enemies’ hands, perhaps, trouble would also come to him.
In addition, Yuan Chuling was kidnapped. If his guess was correct, then these people should be the culprits. Thus, if he could solve these people in time, he would also be able to find Yuan Chuling’s whereabouts and rescue him at the same time. This was, all in all, the most important purpose he had in mind.
"Creak..."
The taxi stopped around two kilometers away from the ferry crossing.
The middle-aged driver took the money Tang Xiu handed and asked curiously, “Little Brother, this a desolate place. What are you going to do here in the middle of the night?”
Tang Xiu took the change from the taxi driver and said lightly, “I lost something here during the day, so I wanna search it and see if I could get it back.”
“Is it a very important thing?” the taxi driver asked in surprise.
“Extraordinary!” said Tang Xiu.
“It looks like that thing you lost is indeed very important, or else, you wouldn’t have run over here in the middle of the night. Anyway, I wish you good luck.” The taxi driver suddenly realized and said with a sigh.
As the taxi left, Tang Xiu clarified the direction and dashed quickly towards it. Soon, his eyes were fixated at the abandoned factory in the dark. Instead of moving down the road, he slipped into the overgrown thick patches of grasses and weeds in the surrounding.
Two minutes later, Tang Xiu could clearly sense that four sneaking silhouettes were lurking toward the abandoned factory about five to six hundred meters away from him. The four of them were wearing black clothes and were as though blended into the darkness. If not for his sharp vision as well as keen observation, he wouldn’t have been able to find them.
“They were surely the ones who were fighting his and Yuan Zhengxuan's men, and they also had been terribly defeated. They must be in high vigilance. So Wolf Head and the others would perhaps suffer heavy losses if they move recklessly.”
Tang Xiu silently thought deeply.